Mamelodi Sundowns defeated Siwelele 7-4 at Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium in a match that looked more like a FIFA session between friends than a title race encounter.
Sundowns attacked relentlessly, but every time they appeared comfortable, Siwelele found another way back into the game.
Brayan León struck a hat-trick, Tashreeq Matthews grabbed two goals, Teboho Mokoena added another, while Nyiko Mobbie’s own goal completed the scoring for the Pretoria side.
MAMEODI SUNDOWNS COACH MIGUEL CARDOSO NOT HAPPY DESPITE SEVEN GOALS
Even after scoring seven times, Cardoso could not hide his disappointment with the defensive display from his side.
“I think we scored another goal that was quite fair and not offside, so when you risk so much and put so much energy, there will be moments where you master your defence or you cannot do it,” Cardoso told SuperSport TV.
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The Portuguese coach admitted his players became obsessed with attacking and chasing more goals, but warned that conceding four goals takes away from what should have been a dominant performance.
“I understood the energy of the boys inside the pitch was to score and score, but really to achieve a result in a match like this, that could give us seven, eight, nine goals, you cannot suffer four,” he said.
“Otherwise in the end it’s the same as winning three or four-nil, our defence could not really cope with the capacity the attack showed. We also had less numbers in balancing the team of course.”
Despite the chaos, Sundowns moved closer to another league title. The champions now need just one more victory to officially secure the Betway Premiership crown again.
“Important win and three points, three points away from finishing the league, with one match,” Cardoso said. “Let’s win the match and see what comes from there.”
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KABO YELLOW BATTLING EXHAUSTION
Cardoso also opened up about the difficult situation inside the Sundowns camp as fixtures continue piling up late in the season.
The coach explained that several players are carrying injuries while others are being carefully managed because of physical fatigue following the CAF Champions League semi-final against Esperance.
“It was also important to understand there was a moment I had to manage the team — the team dropped when we made subs, the players on the pitch were at their limit,” he explained. “We will play in three days, in four days we play Champions League, after the TS Galaxy match.”
The Sundowns mentor then revealed some of the concerns supporters do not normally see from outside.
“Tashreeq is on a thin wire on his legs. Brayan and León coming from muscle injuries, Arthur not really calm, so many problems people don’t know about,” he said.
“We are struggling a lot, we are fighting everything, the calendar, we’re fighting against everything, maybe even people at home watching the game from sofas. But we’re strong,” he concluded.
